Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment
Abstract Humans engage with music for various reasons that range from emotional regulation and relaxation to social bonding. While there are large inter-individual differences in how much humans enjoy music, little is known about the origins of those differences. Here, we disentangle the genetic fac...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58123-8 |
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| author | Giacomo Bignardi Laura W. Wesseldijk Ernest Mas-Herrero Robert J. Zatorre Fredrik Ullén Simon E. Fisher Miriam A. Mosing |
| author_facet | Giacomo Bignardi Laura W. Wesseldijk Ernest Mas-Herrero Robert J. Zatorre Fredrik Ullén Simon E. Fisher Miriam A. Mosing |
| author_sort | Giacomo Bignardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Humans engage with music for various reasons that range from emotional regulation and relaxation to social bonding. While there are large inter-individual differences in how much humans enjoy music, little is known about the origins of those differences. Here, we disentangle the genetic factors underlying such variation. We collect data on several facets of music reward sensitivity, as measured by the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire, plus music perceptual abilities and general reward sensitivity from a large sample of Swedish twins (N = 9169; 2305 complete pairs). We estimate that genetic effects contribute up to 54% of the variability in music reward sensitivity, with 70% of these effects being independent of music perceptual abilities and general reward sensitivity. Furthermore, multivariate analyses show that genetic and environmental influences on the different facets of music reward sensitivity are partly distinct, uncovering distinct pathways to music enjoyment and different patterns of genetic associations with objectively assessed music perceptual abilities. These results paint a complex picture in which partially distinct sources of variation contribute to different aspects of musical enjoyment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-138d013f19494dfd8e35c4ca3b894477 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-138d013f19494dfd8e35c4ca3b8944772025-08-20T02:05:13ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-03-0116111510.1038/s41467-025-58123-8Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoymentGiacomo Bignardi0Laura W. Wesseldijk1Ernest Mas-Herrero2Robert J. Zatorre3Fredrik Ullén4Simon E. Fisher5Miriam A. Mosing6Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsDepartment of Neuroscience, Karolinska InstitutetDepartment of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Universitat de BarcelonaMontreal Neurological Institute, McGill UniversityDepartment of Neuroscience, Karolinska InstitutetLanguage and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsDepartment of Neuroscience, Karolinska InstitutetAbstract Humans engage with music for various reasons that range from emotional regulation and relaxation to social bonding. While there are large inter-individual differences in how much humans enjoy music, little is known about the origins of those differences. Here, we disentangle the genetic factors underlying such variation. We collect data on several facets of music reward sensitivity, as measured by the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire, plus music perceptual abilities and general reward sensitivity from a large sample of Swedish twins (N = 9169; 2305 complete pairs). We estimate that genetic effects contribute up to 54% of the variability in music reward sensitivity, with 70% of these effects being independent of music perceptual abilities and general reward sensitivity. Furthermore, multivariate analyses show that genetic and environmental influences on the different facets of music reward sensitivity are partly distinct, uncovering distinct pathways to music enjoyment and different patterns of genetic associations with objectively assessed music perceptual abilities. These results paint a complex picture in which partially distinct sources of variation contribute to different aspects of musical enjoyment.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58123-8 |
| spellingShingle | Giacomo Bignardi Laura W. Wesseldijk Ernest Mas-Herrero Robert J. Zatorre Fredrik Ullén Simon E. Fisher Miriam A. Mosing Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment Nature Communications |
| title | Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment |
| title_full | Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment |
| title_fullStr | Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment |
| title_short | Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment |
| title_sort | twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58123-8 |
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